Will We Meet Again?
by HarmoniousAngel
Summary: In 1868, Soji and Sei are left in Edo while the Shinsengumi moves on without them. Meanwhile, while sick from Tuberculosis, Soji has something very important to ask Sei. *Some chapters contain spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

**WILL WE MEET AGAIN?**

*****DISCLAIMER: As much as I wish I did, I own neither Kaze Hikaru nor the characters Soji and Sei. **

**NOTE: Please comment. This is only my second story and I would love feedback! Thanks in advance! Please enjoy!**

_**CHAPTER 1**_

_**15 years after Commodore Perry's arrival, the Battle of Toba-Fushimi occurred. After four days of fighting, the battle ended in a decisive defeat for the Tokugawa shogunate. The shogunate forces, including Shinsengumi, retreated to the Tohoku region. Meanwhile, left in Edo…**_

'I can't believe I'm losing this battle,' thought Okita Soji, age 25. He erupted into another fit of bloody coughs as Tominaga Sei, formally known as Kamiya Seizaburo of the Shisengumi, looked on with a worried look.

"Soji, is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Sei." He looked at her with a feeble smile. Since that night ten months ago, they have started calling each other by their given names. "You are doing exactly what I need you to do."

Sei remained quiet for some moments. It was so hard to just sit there and watch him suffer, however, she did not have another choice. Five years ago, Sei decided to stay at Soji's side in order to be near him and protect him. Never did she imagine that their relationship would take this turn.

"You know, I never did tell you about my conversation with Kondo-sensei before that last battle." Sei knew she was rambling on. Although he needed her to sit there, Sei needed to a break in the silence. "As you said several times, Kondo-sensei refused to sentence me to Seppuku after hearing my reasons for staying and especially, after hearing about the baby."

Soji made a lovey-dovey face despite his pain, "Kondo-sensei is soooooooo wonderful. That is why I love him."

Sei smiled for a quick moment, then frowned and jokingly replied, "I knew it! I'm in second place compared to him."

"Actually, you're in third place. I loooove Hijikata-san toooooo!" He used that cooing voice which annoyed her so much.

"WHY YOU!" Sei yelled as Soji laughed. "God! You can be such a jerk!" Even though she knew he loved her, Okita Soji still knew exactly how to get on her nerves.

Her features soften as he erupted into another coughing fit. "Soji, take an easy."

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he responded between pants. He immediately turned serious. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry it took so long to realize how much you meant to me. I am also sorry for not telling you how I felt and ignoring your feelings."

"Soji?" Her voice was filled with concern. Sei knew Soji was lying about how he felt.

However, she just realized how serious his illness was.

"What do you think about reincarnation? Do you believe that a person will find those important to him in his future lives?" Soji asked.

'Why won't he look at me?' Sei thought, aloud she said, "why are you asking about this?"

Soji closed his eyes. He wondered if he should pursue this. "Please just answer my question." He said in a stained voice.

Sei thought for a minute. It felt like an eternity passed when she finally answered, "Yes, I do believe that you will meet your loved ones and close friends in future lives. At least I hope so… I don't know what I would do if I could not see father, ani-ue, Saito-sensi, and all the other guys in the troop again."

Soji turned to look at her. He gave her his best pout, "What about me?"

Sei smiled. "I thought that was obvious when I said _loved one_!"

"Oh sure, you're just saying I'm not special enough to get named!"

"FINE! BE THAT WAY YOU JERK!" She grabbed the bowl of water and cloths they kept beside the bed and marched off to the bathroom. 'Man, he can be a jerk!' she thought. Sei emptied the basin and refilled it with nice cold water. Then he grabbed clean cloths and walked back to the bedroom.

"Sei?"

"Yes?" All the anger left her at the sound of his seriousness voice.

"Promise me two things. First, promise me that when Kondo-sensei dies, you will not commit Seppuku."

"When I said I would follow the man in front of me into death, I wasn't talking about Kondo-sensei.

He looked at her puzzled for a moment. His eyes widened as the truth hit him. "No you can't. Not for me! The baby needs one parent to take care of it!"

"Soji" she said, trying to hold back the tears which threaten to come forth. "It is only for the baby's sake that I will not."

"Thank God!" Soji let out his breathe. He struggled to remain awake to ask this, "promise me that you will wait for me in the next life."

Sei smiled as she replaced a new damp cloth on his head. "Oh course I will. I love you."

"I love you too," Soji groggily said as he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**WILL WE MEET AGAIN?**

*****DISCLAIMER: As much as I wish I did, I own neither Kaze Hikaru nor the characters Soji and Sei. **

**NOTE : I took some ideas for memories from my friend Chibi-chan (better known to you as Yui-Mag. Love you Chibi-chan!!! Other memories I made up. However, I did take most of them from the manga itself…**

**WARNING: This contains some plot spoilers so if you are the type of reader who wants to read the manga in chronological order… STOP NOW! If you are like me and would love to know some of what is coming up, then read on!**

**Again, would love comments!**

_**CHAPTER 2**_

_The Battle of Toba-Fushimi marked the beginning of the end of the Shinsengumi. Before leaving Edo, the Shinsengumi lost Kondō Isami after he was captured and beheaded by the Meiji government. They were forced to leave Okita Soji behind for medical treatment. The Shinsengumi group separated into two parties. One group stayed with Saito Hajime to defend the Aizu domain. The second group went northward with Hijikata Toshizo to join the forces of the Republic of Ezo. _ _However, let go back to the present…_

Sei sat still as men came to collect the still warm body. She stared as they wrapped him with white lining and carried him away for burial preparations. As they left, she didn't follow them. Instead, Sei laid in the spot Soji took his last breath. 

_Soji_... Sei thought as pain stabbed at her heart. She closed her eyes. In a growing distance, she could hear Soji's sisters and mother discuss the burial arrangements and were deciding whom Sei and her baby would reside with. A sad, fleeting smile appeared… they didn't know, they couldn't know. Soji and Sei already made plans. Another pain swept through her heart. 

_Soji…_

Sei closed her eyes, her mind racing. She couldn't stop thinking of the events of the past five years.

_She was lost. Suddenly, a boy of 10 appeared. After telling him not to cry because he was a child of the Bushi, she explained, "We must let out our tears as children so we can serve the Shogunate when we grow up."_

_Her brother and father laid slain. Suddenly he appeared and fought the monsters who took away her family. It was the first time Sei noticed Okita Soji._

_Sei was breathing hard. She just had to make the Shinsengumi group. She sprang back up, "This is far from over." She failed to notice that everyone was staring at her. "Let's go again… please!" She attacked her opponent hard, however failing to get a strike in. Suddenly, she had a wooden practice katana held a her throat. "I had to do that in order to stop you" said a smiling man. "I… I lost!" It was the first time he ever took a true notice of Tominaga Sei._

_Sei stared at the dead man at her feet. She couldn't think… 'He was just as bad as the rest of them right? Or was he just playing dumb to catch set a spy's mind at ease.' His voice brought her back, "What are you going to do. You were running away yourself right Kamiya-san. If you stop now, I can pretend I didn't see anything." That tone, the same one that he always used to annoy her. He later told her that this event was when he noticed this talent and used it to get her relied up. At the time, however, that tone prompted her to say the exact opposite of her intent, "I- I don't need pity!! I am a samurai! Once I've made a decision, I won't change my mind, even if that means sacrificing my life! I'm not a coward". He was obviously surprise. "Hey, don't be like that, do you really want to fight?" She attacked, and as she continued to waste energy in useless attacks, he sighed again. "I guess it can't be helped." He swung, revealing the surprise of his life and a lasting bond between the two._

_She tried to follow him. Her voice wasn't working. Between the attempted rape and hearing Soji's ultimatum, she couldn't pull herself together. Suddenly she saw a flash of regret in his eyes as he swept her into his arms. "Man… Just this once, I'm offering you my kimono. Hurry up and finish crying."_

_She was planning on leaving. Even as Saito-sensei talked, she knew she couldn't stay. Suddenly, a phrase hit her, "The reason Okita-san can laugh… is because he has no personal feelings towards the people he kills. For the people he loves… he is prepared to be called an oni." This phrase came back to her as she saw Okita take a blow by a sumo wrestler. Anger flared up in her as she attacked and thought, 'I am prepared to become an oni for him.'_

_She could never be anything to him. He was the wind, she was the bound to the earth. She was a blade of grass that could never be anything to the wind like the kite (Kondo-sensei) and a bird (the oni-vice captain). She didn't understand how important grass was to wind until Yamanami-sensei told her to become a bigger blade of grass, because one only knows that the wind existed because the grass sways with it. At that point, she was determine to show him that she was his home._

Night had fallen, and Sei knew she had to get up. But she couldn't let the spot where Soji had laid get cold. 

_She didn't understand his coldness towards her at times. Sometimes, it would flare up against her when she requested special lessons from Saito or would tease Yamanami-sensei about something. Other times, it would flare up after certain events, like after his encounter with extreme heat stroke or when she was investigating missing money from the Shinsengumi treasury. It was only much later when explained his behavior was due to jealousy._

_She found a note in her belongings. HE was asking her to meet with him... alone Her heart started to beat faster as thoughts entered her head. 'Him holding her, kissing her, confessing his love towards her.' Little did she know at the time that the letter was forged by Nakamura-san, a new recruit and a pain in the ass._

_There were many times he lied to her. He told her she stunk to get her away as he assassinated Serizawa-sensei. He hid his coughing fits so he didn't know how badly he was ill. But the time that pissed her off the most was when he lied and claimed that Matsumoto-san had left, only to bring her to him._

_He finally caught up to her. "Are you really not going to let me see the photo?" She looked at him, and explained that she regrets posing for it. However, he caught her off guard by saying it could be a momento and grabs it from her. He smiles, amazed at how well it came out. Suddenly, he turns bright read. "We look like we're married!"_

_He was always getting into trouble because of her. From actions that were not his own- she joined Shinsengumi and her cooked much needed rations- to more serious offenses of his own doing- interfering with a covert operation in order to ensure her safety._

"_I love you." Her head spun. She couldn't believe her hears. Just to be sure, she took her wakizashi and hesitated. She decided he had to know. She pierced herself, just enough to cause pain. She listed for a bit as he yelled at her for her action. Then she interrupted him, "Tell me again." He looked at her surprise before nervously repeating "I love you." She jumped towards him. As he caught her and fell backwards, she cried, "I love you to Soji!" Nine months later, she gave birth to a baby girl._

Sei forced herself to get up and gather her things. She had to leave at dawn with her daughter. 

_His coughing has become so bad that he was hospitalized. She made a decision and went to Kondo-sensei. She told him everything. She waited for the order to commit seppuku, but it never came. He only told her to go and take care of him. He would provide for her and the baby if anything happened to her husband._

_He proudly looked at his daughter from a distance. They were afraid to bring their daughter closer due to his illness. "Let's name her Sakura," he said. Her mind flashed back to him asking Serizawa-sensei to see the cherry blossoms with him the night long ago._

"_What do you think about reincarnation? Do you believe that a person will find those important to him in his future lives?" he asked. She replied, "Yes, I do believe that you will meet your loved ones and close friends in future lives. At least I hope so… I don't know what I would do if I could not see father, ani-ue, Saito-sensi, and all the other guys in the troop again."_

_He was breathing hard. His illness had taken the turn for the worst in the past few weeks. He could hardly string enough words to make a sentence. They knew the end was near… he used the last of his strength to hold her hand tightly above his heart. Then, he left her._

Dawn finally arrived. Sei knew she would regret not being at Soji's burial. She also knew his family would be worried and would search for her. However, she could not bring dishonor to his family or Soji's memory. As his blade of grass, she knew that her part was to stay in the background and let Soji rush over the earth. With a final look at Soji's room, she left to meet Sato-san.


End file.
